'Missing'- Gecko Theatre Company

Gecko is an internationally acclaimed physical and visual theatre company, which has been experimenting with movement, multi-lingual texts, and audience interpretations since 2000. Led by Artistic Director Amit Lahav, the company work tirelessly over several years to produce each individual show. On the 29th January I watched their performance of 'Missing' at The Nottingham Playhouse', and was also fortunate to be part of an after show discussion with the cast, and Lahav himself, which proved extremely beneficial to the piece.

The Performance takes us on an exploration of the life of Lily (Katie Lusby), who finds herself trapped between quarrelling parents, a love life with no spark, a job that is overwhelming her, and a pressure to maintain her Spanish family heritage. Lily’s soul is described as ‘decaying’, and we are presented with an emotional journey to find herself again. Later in the discussion, it was interesting to learn that this concept stemmed from Lahav himself and his experience growing up with parents who spoke different languages and fought around him. Ultimately, this only rendered the piece that much more enjoyable, as we see the personal struggle of a man who overcame the challenges discussed.

The performers float effortlessly along the stage-long treadmills, morphing in and out of focus with tableaus and movement which was mesmerising to watch and a lovely accompaniment to the action in the foreground. This was a beautiful idea and executed with a wonderful precision.

As with all Gecko shows, the dance content is second to none, however in the transitional scenes I felt it became a little underwhelming and repetitive; maintaining the sound of breath and a similar movement style throughout was unnecessary to the narrative. This pattern occurred often, and I would like to have seen more exploration in these sections, that went beyond the boundaries of the company’s existing repertoire of choreography.

In contrast, there was a beauty and elegance in the Spanish dance that was enchanting, swirling in and out of Lily’s memory in snapshots through picture frames. Lahav explains that “words are not the central story teller”, so I believe this is what carried the narrative forward and helped us understand the significance of heritage.

The motif with the picture frames was interesting, and I was a big fan of this creative decision. It provided an insight to other action and created a snappier pace, moving the piece forward very effectively. I particularly enjoyed the reverse movement sequence by Lily’s parents within an upstage frame; an electric and swirling blur of arguing and desperation that really connected to the audience.

I have previously watched a performance of Gecko’s ‘The Wedding’, so with this in mind, I was expecting some real explosive moments, yet felt this piece stayed on a similar level throughout, even borrowing whole sections from ‘The Wedding’. For example, the lead is in darkness, save for the swarm of office essentials that hovers around him, controlled like puppets by the supporting cast. This is mirrored exactly in ‘Missing’, with even the same context of an office unchanging. Although this wowed me in the first show, it became tedious and predictable watching it a second time.

As suggested, the after-show discussion lifted my judgement of the performance slightly, allowing us to understand the process and the ideas behind the techniques and themes. However, I don’t feel a successful piece of theatre should have to be discussed in such depth after the curtain falls in order that it is understood and appreciated. It is important to note the significance of the audience having their own interpretation of the show to Lahav, who emphasised he did not want to share specific meanings of each section for this reason. He explained the use of multiple languages meant the message had to be put across some other way, and this is what can be left open to discussion. It was lovely to see the passion behind each cast member as they discussed their experiences, and it is clear the company are a very close- knit group – key to any devising process.

Despite its muddiness at times, the show was very enjoyable and provided some interesting comments around its themes. The company use some wonderful techniques, but these can sometimes get saturated with underdeveloped and old content. I cannot fault the performers themselves, and there was not one weak cast member, however I would like to see them stretched more to create some momentous moments, rather than simply staying in their comfort zones.